ufc fighter of the year??

with only a month left in the year their are a couple fighters of the verge of break out while others are starting to be super stars by nominee's for fighter of the year are

kenny florian

beat lauzon, huerta and stevenson

he is starting to be a superstar

thiago alves

beat three top 10 consensus welterweights in hughes, pariyan and koscheck

lesnar

even though he lost to mir he beat herring and won the belt from couture

michael bisping

beat and has looked very impressive at middleweight with wins over mccarthy,day and leban

last candidate has to go to anderson silvaeven though he has had less named opponents he went 3-0 against hendo and cote and moved up and beat down irvin

breakout stars of 2009

dustin hazletthe is awesome on the ground i think he will break into top 10 next year

damian maia went 3-0 this year next year he will get his title shot

gray maynardeven though his fights aren't that exciting he really is a bully and force to be had

cain velasquezi see him making a serious threat to gain the belt

the miller bros

went undefeated in 2008 i see them jim and dan will be in the top 10 in the ufc by the end of 2009

juanez13

11/23/08 7:48:24PM

For me its a tie between Florian and Thaigo. Lesnar and Maia tied for second.

mrkennedy

11/23/08 7:57:19PM

thiago because i hate florian

nickcuc547

11/23/08 8:06:19PM

Florian and Alves are the top two by far, maia has also had a phenomenal year but he hasn't beaten the guys that florian and alves beat. I may have to give a slight edge to thiago, karo, hughes and kos is slightly more impressive than lauzon, huerta and stevenson in my opinion.

1. Alves2. Florian3. Maia

bojangalz

11/23/08 8:39:08PM

I'm sorry, but Lauzan, Huerta, Stevenson can't hold a candle to Kos, Karo, and Hughes. Alves demolished three top-ten WW's this year. Each of them in very convincing fashion. Pitbull is far and away the fighter of the year.

I think Florian's stock has risen just as much as Alves given their respective weight divisions. And that is probably why they are getting mentioned in the same breath so often. But when you look at their opponents, and where they stacked up at the time of each fight it's very clear who had the better year.

*Edit*

Also, I think the real breakout fighter of the year is McLovin'. Everyone who knew JiuJitzu knew that Maia was something special the moment he stepped into the octagon. Maia is as technically sound as a submission fighter can be. Everything is by the book. He's like the teacher's pet: Always has the answer before the question is even asked. You can pretty much tell what's coming with Maia, there's just no way to stop it.

McLovin' is like a mad scientist. Hell, even a virtuoso. What he does is all instinct and improvisation. His armbars come from places I've never seen before. You can't defend what you don't see coming.

I love both those guys, but I gotta give the nod to McLovin' on this one.

iwannabesedated

11/23/08 8:46:48PM

Anderson Silva

Wolfenstein

11/23/08 9:02:17PM

The UFC fighter of the year has to undoubtedly be Thiago Alves for beating 3 of the top ten fighters at WW in convincing fashion.

LW Breakout Star- Kenny FlorianLW Runner up- Gray Maynard

WW Breakout Star- Thiago AlvesWW Runner Up- Dustin Hazelett

MW Breakout Star- Demian MaiaMW Runner Up- Michael Bisping

LHW Breakout Star- Forrest GriffinLHW Runner Up- Rashad Evans

HW Breakout Star- Brock LesnarHW Runner Up- Frank Mir

seanfu

11/23/08 9:18:53PM

Thiago.

Griffin couldve been mentioned if he fought another opponent this year and if he beat(s) Rashad.

Florian beat up the UFC LW division so maybe he's close.

ST Pierre could be mentioned.

Anderson, obviously.

mentalcase

11/23/08 9:45:37PM

Kenny FlorianThiago AlvesDemian Maia

tepid55

11/23/08 10:14:29PM

I think Anderson Silva is Fighter of the Year, but I think Dustin Hazelett is the breakout fighter for 2008

Twenty20Dollars

11/23/08 10:17:56PM

Kan Flo

gartface

11/23/08 11:45:14PM

Fighter of the Year1. Florian - I thought it was impressive that he pretty much had a title shot and decided instead of putting himself on the shelf, he took on another top 5 UFC LW and demolished him.2. Alves - He's very big, very fast, and hits really hard. Aside from BJ he has the best shot to give GSP a run for his money.

Breakout1. Maia - Hazelett is a wizard but Maia has completely demolished everyone he's gone against. 2. Hazelett3. Maynard - I actually think that Gray is an exciting fighter, like Clay Guida. I like watching strong wrestlers fight, because instead of LnP they always seem to go for big take downs and/or slams.

Not even close IMO, Alves is by far the fighter of the year. He went from a 3-1 underdog against Karo Parisyan to the #2 welterweight in the world in 6 months.

Not even close.

cowcatcher

11/24/08 8:19:05AM

this is an easy one for me too, its got to be alves. he went from being a tough opponent for anyone to being the next guy in line for a title shot and as previously said he beat 2 consensus top tens at the time.

When I read the subject line, I immediately thought of Kenny Florian. BUT...once I started to read the thread, I found myself agreeing with those who said Thiago.

I say...

1 - Thiago Alves2 - Kenny Florian

Aaronno9

11/24/08 10:44:27AM

Alves for sure. Breakout fighter of the year to nate diaz or maia.

emfleek

11/24/08 10:53:20AM

Posted by Aaronno9

Alves for sure. Breakout fighter of the year to nate diaz or maia.

I couldn't agree more.

4u2nv

11/24/08 10:55:35AM

Posted by Wolfenstein

The UFC fighter of the year has to undoubtedly be Thiago Alves for beating 3 of the top ten fighters at WW in convincing fashion.

LW Breakout Star- Kenny FlorianLW Runner up- Gray Maynard

WW Breakout Star- Thiago AlvesWW Runner Up- Dustin Hazelett

MW Breakout Star- Demian MaiaMW Runner Up- Michael Bisping

LHW Breakout Star- Forrest GriffinLHW Runner Up- Rashad Evans

HW Breakout Star- Brock LesnarHW Runner Up- Frank Mir

Pretty Much the best way to put it.

stock

11/24/08 12:32:04PM

I am still too pissed about Alves' weight issues in the Hughes fight to crown him with anything.

JBatch

11/24/08 12:57:01PM

ou guys are all mentioning Velasquez but no love for Shane Carwin, this guy is going to be real tough for anyone to handle.

GrizzlyChadams

11/24/08 1:16:26PM

No way does Alves deserve fighter of the year over Florian. You all mention that Alves has beaten higher ranked opponants but he also failed to make weight against one of them. For this reason alone, i'd give it to Florian.

Aaronno9

11/24/08 1:29:52PM

Alves beat 3 for sure top 10 fighters. Kenny beat possibly one depending on how highly you rate Stevenson ( I had him in the top 10). I mean, i was pissed about the weight missing to, but even wins against kos and karo hold more water than kennys wins imo.

GrizzlyChadams

11/24/08 1:43:25PM

Karo is a gatekeeper at best, and Alves beat a washed up Hughes over weight. The only win I was really impressed with was the win over Kos in which Kos took on short notice.

Where as Kenny walked right through Stevenson (a top 5 UFC LW) and beat an undefeated Huerta. From my perspective, this looks alot more impressive.

haggiswashere

11/24/08 1:47:36PM

Posted by Aaronno9

Alves beat 3 for sure top 10 fighters. Kenny beat possibly one depending on how highly you rate Stevenson ( I had him in the top 10). I mean, i was pissed about the weight missing to, but even wins against kos and karo hold more water than kennys wins imo.

Huerta was ranked 9 at the time of there fight. so that is 2 top tens for flo.

Alves is by far more improved though

Aaronno9

11/24/08 2:03:17PM

Posted by haggiswashere

Posted by Aaronno9

Alves beat 3 for sure top 10 fighters. Kenny beat possibly one depending on how highly you rate Stevenson ( I had him in the top 10). I mean, i was pissed about the weight missing to, but even wins against kos and karo hold more water than kennys wins imo.

Huerta was ranked 9 at the time of there fight. so that is 2 top tens for flo.

Alves is by far more improved though

I dont think Huerta was even close to being top 10. I think alves 3 opponents where in everybodies top 10, whereas huerta was only in his bandwagons top 10.

haggiswashere

11/24/08 2:05:15PM

Posted by Aaronno9

Posted by haggiswashere

Posted by Aaronno9

Alves beat 3 for sure top 10 fighters. Kenny beat possibly one depending on how highly you rate Stevenson ( I had him in the top 10). I mean, i was pissed about the weight missing to, but even wins against kos and karo hold more water than kennys wins imo.

Huerta was ranked 9 at the time of there fight. so that is 2 top tens for flo.

Alves is by far more improved though

I dont think Huerta was even close to being top 10. I think alves 3 opponents where in everybodies top 10, whereas huerta was only in his bandwagons top 10.